Take a trip on the Orient Express which offers a luxurious 19th century journey — minus the murders

Travelling on this beautiful journey doesn't come cheap, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience

By Nimmi Maghera-Rakhra

3rd March 2018, 3:39 am

Updated: 5th March 2018, 2:56 pm

TO board the Orient Express is to be transported to a time when train journeys were romantic, luxurious . . . and occasionally murderous.

Now the only thrill is if your train turns up on time.

Porters pictured outside the famous Orient Express as they prepare for the long journey

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The Orient Express travels between Paris, Venice, Verona and London

The service, first run in 1883, is synonymous with the golden age of travel but is best known for the violent works of fiction set in its ornate carriages.

James Bond bested a Soviet hitman while travelling from Istanbul to London in From Russia With Love, while Hercule Poirot cracked his biggest case in Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express.

The latter has been adapted many times for the big and small screen, including a star-studded offering last year from director Kenneth Branagh, who also played Poirot.

As I board the train at Paris Gare de L’Est, where it first set off all those years ago, some of the film’s contributors embark with me — James Pritchard, the author’s great-grandson, and Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne.

Dine in style in the softly lit dining car kitted out with fine white linen and silverware

Why does James think Christie’s work has stood the test of time?

He says: “She just came up with the most magnificent stories. With Poirot, you know things are going to get sorted.”

​All-star cast in the first trailer for Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express' starring Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot​

It is easy to see why Christie was so inspired by the train.

Just clap your eyes on the polished royal blue-and-white 1920s Pullman carriages, complete with brass insignia, and you can’t help but be impressed.

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The train now runs on electric power rather than steam allowing it to travel much faster

And so you should be for the price! Travelling on this beauty does not come cheap, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Even busy Parisian commuters pause for a moment to take a few snaps on their phones.

The inside, with its wood panelling, art deco inlay and generous armchair seating, is still luxurious by today’s standards.

Now the train runs on electric power rather than steam, so it can travel much faster — 62mph rather than 18mph — without lugging so much coal and water.

Fresh pastries and delicious cakes are served by uniformed waiters in white gloves

Breakfast is taken in the softly lit dining car, where fine white linen, silverware and china crockery set the mood.

Fresh pastries and delicious cakes are served by uniformed waiters wearing white gloves.

They are attentive but as discreet as you can be in such a confined space.

Glancing at my fellow passengers, I feel rather under-dressed in my usually trusty LBD.

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Olivia Colman and Judi Dench travelled on the train for Murder on the Orient Express

When I ask Alexandra how many outfits a lady would have travelled with in the 1930s, she takes the character played by Judi Dench in last year’s film as a reference point.

She says: “Someone like Princess Dragomiroff is of a generation where she would change three or four times a day and again at dinner.

“A lady such as Mary Debenham (played by Daisy Ridley) would travel with one day outfit, one evening outfit and her pyjamas.”

There are no showers on the train, just a loo on either end.

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Johnny Depp also boarded the train in Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express

Only a wash basin would be available to freshen up quickly in the compact, private sleeping carriages, where bunk-style beds fold into a sofa during the day.

While the train usually travels between Paris, Venice, Verona and London, on our short journey we are treated to a day trip to Reims.

Here we disembark for a few hours to visit the dusty cellars of champagne house Veuve Clicquot.

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The train, which used to run at 18mph, now travels at 62mph, no longer lugging coal and water

As we are shown around — and offered bubbly — we learn how the brand first took off in the early 1800s, around the time of the first steam locomotive.

The boozy theme continues back on the train for the return trip to Paris, as I move to the bar car, complete with grand piano, for cocktails.

Go: Orient Express

Staying there: Paris to London on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express costs from £700pp see belmond.com.

It is a great place to mingle with other passengers.

Before long, it is back to a second dining cart for afternoon tea — and more champagne.

Tiny finger sandwiches are served alongside cakes and pastries, as the French countryside whizzes past.

It is amazing to think all this food has been made in the tiny galley kitchen.

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Caught up in the majesty of the experience, it has been nice to forget the strains of modern life for a while.

My daily commute with Greater Anglia will never be the same.

Still, at least there is little chance of getting caught up in a gruesome murder mystery.

Murder On The Delayed 9:24 to Liverpool Street” doesn’t quite have the same ring.